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FRANCIS E. lMILLS, OF SAN FRANCISGG), CALIFORNIA?. Latem Param No. 64,894, ma May 21, 1867.

noon marcaron.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS E. MILLS, of the city and county of San Francisco, and State of California, have' invented a new and improved Door Indicator to be inserted in the street doors of offices, combined with a note-box for the reception of letters, cards,'and notes ;v and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereoi', which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication.'`

The nature of my invention consists, first, in cutting an aperture through the. body of the door, covered with a glass face in front, through which any written or printed announcement made opposite the glass on the inside may be seen from without; second, adapting to iit the recess formed behind this glass face, a'mechanical device combined with ,words and figures by means of which the occupant may easily and quickly indicate his presence, engagement, or absence, and the duration of such absence, or make any other announcement desired, without liability to change, disturbance, obliteration, or destruction by persons outside.; and, third, combining in the same plate which mounts the indicator on the outside of tbe door an aperture for the reception of cards, letters, notes, &c. I

The object of this invention is iirst to enable the lady of a house to avoid the waste of time, interruption of business, and annoyance occasioned by the frequent ringing of the door-bell during that portion of the day required for her own laborious avocations; second, when really absent it enables the occupant, (particularly a professional mam) to inform all persons who may call on business, when and where he may be found, enabling them at the same time to leave any information, orders, appointments, tc., through the note-box; it alsopermits letter-postmen, collectors, 85e., to deposit their letters or bills without the delay and annoyance incident to ringing the bell; the whole constituting a neat, convenient, cheap, and safe medium of communication both Iways. In the accompanying plate of drawings my improvements are illustrated-- Figure l being a front view of the same.

Figure 2, a vertical section taken in the plane ofthe line :v x, iig. l; and

Figure 3, a detail view.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A, a circular plate made of silver or other metal, of about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, with a circular opening, B, cut out in its centre of about one and three-quarters of an inch diameter. Between this opening B and the periphery cf the plate is cut another narrow opening or slot D, semicircular in fo'rm, about threesixteenths of an inch wide, and extending in length nearly half way around the circle. The iirst or circular opening is to form the face of the indicator, and'the semicircular slot, D is to form the face ofthe aperture for the reception of' letters and cards. This flat plate, thus prepared, is placed on the front side of the door at `the proper height, and after carefully marking out the position of the two apertures on the wood/two corresponding holes or openings are cut entirely through the door, using for the circular opening an auger-bit of same size as the circle to be cut out, and for the semicircular slot a. small compasssaw. A piece of clearplate glass of circular form, a trie larger than the circular hole in the door, is then taken and set in front of the circular hole, sinking its thickness in the wood, so that the outsidesurface of the glass shall be iiush with the face of the door. I then replace the silver plate on the face of the door, the two openings in the plate being exactly against and corresponding with the two openings in the door, and fasten it permanently in that position with screws or otherwise. This completes the outside face of both-the note-box and the indicator, and forms a cylindrical recess O on the inside of the door, with a glass face through which any words or figures presented toward that face on the inside may be seen from the outside. I then construct a cylindrical box, b, with a cap or cover, c, similar in form and structure to the ordinary pill-box used by druggists and apothecaries, except that the sides of'the box project slightly beyond the flat bottom in the end opposite the cover, forming a shallow sink in that end of the box. The diameter of this box is such as just to permit it to he slipped into the recess r behind the glass on the inside'of the door, and its length about one-third of an inch greater than the thickness ofthe door. This box or cylinder may be made of wood, metal, papier-mache, orany other material convenient and suitable. On the flat end ofthe box forming the cover I stamp or print permanently the word O U T in large letters, and immediately below this the word T I L Lil in smaller letters, and below this, again, I cut a hole, h, entirely through the ilat cover near the rim, about one-quarter of' an inch square, through which any figure could be ensei 2 seen which might stand immediately opposite such hole inside the cover. I then fit a fiat circular plate of metal, wood, or pasteboard, about one-eighth of an inch thick, in the inside of the cover close against the dat top, but not so tight but that it may be turned freely inside therixn. On that side of thisl plate next the hole L, I print an hour circle of figures representing the hours of' the day, as shown at d, the figures being in such a position that when the plate is revolved inside the cover, each igure,'from 1 to 12 inclusive, is brought in succession directly opposite this hole h, so that if this dial-plate should be turned inside the cover till the figure 4 be brought opposite the hole, the reading on .the end of the boxwould be O UT TILL 5, and so for any other figure desired. l

The device for revolving the dial-plate P with the box closed is the following Inthe open end of thebox which the cover slips over, I cut out two gainsff opposite each other, about one-eighthof an inch deep, and to match these gains raiseon that side of the dial-plate opposite the dial two corresponding projeetio'nsa' so that Vwhen the box is closed these gains clutch the projections on the dial-plate, andv cause it to revolve as thc box isturned within the cover. The effect of this varrangement is that when the occupant wishes to indicate that he is O U T till a certain hour of the day, he has only to take the cylinder from its place in the recess, turn the cap with the thumb and fingers till the desired figure presents itself opposite the hole h, then replace it in the recess with that end toward the glass, andthe readingis' seen from without. This cap end of the cylinder when presented toward the glass simply represents that the/occupant is OU T5l till a stated hour, vand theother end is left blank to be presented toward the glass 'whenever the occupant of the house or room wishes 'to be considered I N. But as it may be desired in some cases to indicate .engaged, or engaged to acertain party, or to state the place of absence, or some other special fact not' possible to announce on the single fixed disk, I have made the cylinder iu the form of a hollow box for the purpose of containing a number of separate circular cards or disks, some of them left blank, and made of ivory for convenience of erasing, tn be filled up bythe occupant vvith such special announcementsias he may have occasion to make. These special cards S S'are made to fit the shallow sink tformed in the reverse end of the cylinder, and whenever a special `announcement is required, the card containing such announcement is taken from thebx, slipped into the sink ton the reverse end of the cylinder, and that end presented toward the glass face. Whenever itlshould be desired, a lock-box can be attached to the door inside by a hip'rge on its lower edge. The box could be made to covertboth the letter, slot, and the indicator and lock against the door on the upper edge. i

I do not claim as my invention any of the paper devices made to hang up or fasten against the outside of a door for the purpose of indicating the absence and period ofreturn of'theoccupautffor such indicators are already known and in use; but what I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The reversible box b, provided with the lettered cover c, having the hole L and the revolving diskl?,` said box containing a series of lettered or blank disks S S, adapted to be placed inthe sink t inthe reverse end` in the said box, substantially as described for the purpose specified. i

' 2. The reversible box in combination ivith the door, glass plate, circular plate A, having circular opening B, and semicircular opening D, substantially as described-for the purpose specified.

FRAeIs E. MILLS.

Witnesses:

J. A. FLETCHER, ALFRED BAnsrow. 

